Blood on my name
by BirdInSkies
Summary: "Listen up people, yesterday at 0700 we lost contact with pioneer team on Akuze. Might be nothing, might be something, but you're going to give me some damn answers." Only no one knew that those answers are going to cost them their lives.
1. Chapter 1

I had this story on my mind for a while now, but only now decided to post it. I'm using the same Emilia Shepard as the one in my previous ME stories. This is a story about what happened on Akuze, and the story behind the sole survivor background. There are some new characters, but also Toombs who was in ME.

* * *

It was well past 10 p.m. and her body realized it sooner that she did. Maybe she should've listened to its moaning an hour ago, but she kept pushing herself further, until her eyes were the first ones to give up. She couldn't make out the targets, couldn't quite hit a single "enemy". But she took another deep breath, pulling more air into her lungs, bracing her muscles for yet another run.

He noticed the signs, she forced her breathing to slow down, her body tensed under the weight of the pain she's been holding back for an hour now. But she was ready to go at it again, until she would finally pass out, her body unable to make another move. A deep sigh left his mouth, followed by a puff of smoke from the cigarette he let fall to the ground. _This is madness_, he thought, but his lips curved into a smile as he saw himself running through the same training course some years back.

Ready to walk through the door with a tight grip on her weapon, the door suddenly closed shut right before her eyes. Confused, she looked around until her gaze stopped at a man walking towards her. She relaxed, knowing the man and his reasons for stopping her. But her head lowered and a faint blush crept to her cheeks, and it had little to nothing with the hard training she's been through.

"You did it again, Shepard." he says, his voice quiet but intimidating. He stopped right in front of her, his tall figure covering all possible ways of escape. But he knew her too well then to think she'd run from him.

If he wanted to hear her apologize, he'd have more luck with teaching a cat to bark. There was nothing to be sorry about, she felt herself lacking and falling behind other members of their team, so she trained to match them. She may have pushed herself a bit harder this time, but she meant well by it. Too bad the captain didn't see it that way.

"Ready for another run then?" he asks mockingly, but he means his every word. Emilia looks up to meet his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. "Are you waiting for a written invitation?" there is a faint Russian accent in his voice as he raises it to make his point clear.

She can hear the door behind her open again, but she hesitates to face the training ground. Neither one seems to be backing down, both too proud to admit their wrongs, though only one of them is truly guilty. So she makes a step back, straightening herself for a salute, but the numbness of her muscles finally catches up with her brain. She can no longer maintain standing and she stumbles back, landing on her ass. Groaning in pain, she shifts her weight on her right hand, trying to stand up, but falls back to the ground.

Captain laughs soundly when he meets her eyes, burning with anger and embarrassment. He walks up to her and offers her a hand, she takes it and gets back up to her feet without looking at him. Under different circumstances, this situation would be awkward and Emilia knew that she should feel nervous, disappointed, maybe even depressed, but captain Sasha Nordin pats her shoulder as if nothing happened.

"Better?" he asks with a smile on his lips and the whole room suddenly brightens up. Sasha Nordin was the best captain Emilia Shepard could ask for, being an Earthborn like herself, she felt being drawn to him, like they had so much in common, like they were family. But they didn't even look alike, their hair were of different colors, hers light brown, his raven black. Sasha's eyes were dark gray, and like in a fog, you could get easily lost in them. Emilia's eyes matched her hair, brown was a color that didn't stand out, she liked it that way.

Sasha was born in Vancouver, while Emilia was born and raised in New York. She had no family, while Sasha had a father, retired Alliance advisor, and a sister, a famous writer. And thus there was no doubt about it, they were two different people, who'd hardly exchange a glance if meeting on a street.

But in here, in Alliance, they were brother and sister, no one could tear them apart. Sasha felt that strange connection growing stronger ever since she joined Alliance. He still remembers her first training, she was so full of herself. Raised on the streets, she was used to looking out for herself, trusting no one. But the training taught her otherwise, _he_ taught her otherwise.

She returns a smile, her eyes are half awake, she tries hard to hide a yawn. Then, her head jerks forward as if pulled with a string and she registers a stabbing pain in the back of her head. These signs of affection were common in their unit, Sasha made sure to teach his teammates respect like he'd teach it to bunch of teenagers, by slapping them on the head.

"Hit the showers and bunker down-" Sasha didn't complete his sentence, focusing his attention on omni tool strapped to his wrist, "You know what, scratch that, I've got a priority message from HQ, come on." They left the training area and headed straight for the headquarters, where most of the teams and their teammates were already awaiting a briefing.

Corporals Alvarez and Toombs waved at them, motioning at two empty seats next to them. "Training hard, Shepard?" asked Toombs, noticing her tired look and fast breathing. Shepard took a seat next to Toombs, answering his question with a side look.

"What's with you two, coming in together? Something I should know about?" Alvarez glanced at captain, then Shepard, before his head twitched after a head slap. "None of my business, captain." He replied to his own question and rubbed the back of his head.

"Listen up people, yesterday at 0700 we lost contact with pioneer team on Akuze. Might be nothing, might be something, but you're going to give me some damn answers." Commander Simmons was the one giving orders, considering the situation to be a high priority. Akuze was a starting colony, and if anything was to happen to it, Earth would lose resources from the planet.

"You'll be leaving first thing in the morning, and given more details on the ship. Any questions?" he scans the room for any raised hands, when he sees none, he dismisses his soldiers.

Corporal Toombs sighs, remaining seated as the room clears, "Just my luck, only one more fucking week till my leave and now this happens."

"Suck it up, corporal, or I'll make sure you stay here for another month at least." replies the captain. Toombs raises his hands in defense and follows his squad back to barracks to get some rest before the mission.


	2. Chapter 2

"Be advised, we are now entering Akuze. Notice the beautiful sundown on your three o'clock, don't forget to take pictures and don't forget to hold onto your lunch while we descend. Thank you for choosing shuttle 'damn-you-I-know-how-to-fly-this-fucking-thing'."

"Toombs, shut up." Captain Nordin pushes Toombs head into a slight bow while checking back on his team. "All right, gear up, I want to do this fast. We might get back to base in time for breakfast."

"Aye, captain." replies the rest of his team while they're checking their equipment. Shuttle slowed down, descending with a minor turbulence which only confirmed that Toombs does not know how to fly a shuttle properly.

Alvarez shook his head, holding onto anything in reach, "If you make me fly with this idiot again I swear I'm gonna puke."

"I thought you were used to it already." asked Shepard, who seemed to have little to none difficulties with balance.

"So did I, and every time this maniac proves me wrong."

The shuttle finally landed, much on Alvarez's prayers. With their rifles handy, they scanned the area for movement. The other teams landed as well. Teams regrouped and listened to orders. Every team took a small area to cover. Captain Nordin led his team to their destination, a settlement nearby their landing location.

"We're taking the west side, make sure to double check your targets. And Toombs, no chatter." Captain looked over his shoulder to meet Toombs' questioning look. "I fucking mean it."

"Captain, I'm seriously offended, you know it makes me feel better when I talk." Toombs argued.

"Yeah and it gives me a hell of headache." came a reply from Nordin. "Spread out, Shepard, you're with me."

Shepard nodded and joined captain's side, who rolled his eyes at Toombs' protests. Alvarez kept his mouth shut, but didn't feel too happy about getting stuck with Toombs. They were best friends, but Toombs sometimes couldn't shut his cakehole and it drove Alvarez, just like the others, crazy.

"What do you think we'll find, captain? So far it looks like no one's home." Shepard watched the empty settlements for any indication of life. It was getting dark and lights were still out, there were no signs of the team or anyone else.

"Doesn't matter what we find. If they're not here, we're reporting back to HQ, let the command deal with it. But I sure as hell hope that the colonists are just taking a nap, Ems." Unfortunately, his usual instinct was way off this time and after half an hour, they couldn't find a soul in the settlement.

Orders from the HQ were to stay the night, hoping that someone would eventually turn up. There were many protests among the soldiers, but leaving the possible survivors behind was not an option for any of them.

"So, any ideas about the missing team? You think they moved without telling us?" Toombs was the first to ask what's been on everyone's mind. Nordin's team was covering the west area, playing cards while the captain attended a meeting with other captains.

Losing another round and another credits, Shepard focused more on the problem at hand than her cards now. "Maybe something killed them. Command didn't tell us the exact time they lost all contact. As far as anyone can tell, we know shit about what happened."

"I just don't get why we have to stay here, it's not like they're going to magically pop up in the morning. This is a waste of time and handsome and beautiful soldiers like ourselves." Toombs bumped fists with Alvarez.

Few minutes later, captain Nordin returned to his squad, "Get some beauty sleep you three, we're making one more sweep in the morning." Nordin lit himself a cigarette, puffing the smoke towards the clear night sky, a little too clear for his taste.

Toombs and Alvarez had nothing against few hours of sleep, but Shepard remained wide awake, a strange sense of mystery tucked at her mind. But she couldn't place the feeling, couldn't quite grasp the whole story behind Akuze. If it was spotting the danger, Shepard was the first one to notice, her natural radar polishing ever since she was a child growing up on the streets. But it seemed to be of little help here. Things were quiet, a little too quiet.

"You have something?" Nordin asked after he watched Shepard for a while. He was the leader, she was the brains, and with Alvarez as a sniper and Toombs as a scout, they had the perfect team.

Shepard turned her head sideways to look at her captain, "Not a thing, but it's too quiet."

Nordin nodded his head and scanned the area, but like before, he couldn't see anything besides the teams drifting off to sleep or talking. "Better get some sleep now, it's been a long ride."

Shepard shook her head, "You go captain, I wouldn't be able to fall asleep just yet anyway." Her eyes met with his, he watched her for a while, hesitating. At last he put out his cigarette and grabbed his stuff, settling on a spot next to his team.

She played with the cards for a while, thinking of a strategy to beat Toombs. Then she cleaned her weapon, anything to keep herself focused. But in the end, even her brain gave up and her eyes closed. Jerking herself awake, she remembered to wake one of her teammates.

As she was getting back up on her feet, her hand touched the ground and she felt a light quake in the ground. She looked around to see if anyone else noticed, they didn't. Rubbing her eyes, she let it go, thinking it was just her imagination.

Reaching out to wake the captain, the ground shook again, with more intensity, finally catching everyone's attention.

"Earthquake? You think that's why they're not here anymore?" was the first thing Alvarez asked, but he knew it was unlikely.

Shepard looked at the ground, "I don't think it was an earthquake." The ground shook again, but this time it didn't reach all the way to their team. Shepard kneeled down, placing her hand on the ground again. She had her theory, but it was unlikely. If there was something down there, command would never have sent a pioneer team here.

"Shepard?" Nordin noticed her realization, but before she could sound her theory, something emerged from the ground, confirming Shepard's thoughts. A thresher maw, larger than any they've ever seen. It roared and dived back into the ground, taking a team of soldiers with it and disappearing underground.

No one moved, for a while no one could make a sound, until someone, finally, yelled out, "Move!" That voice came from behind Shepard, who stared at the empty encampment. They were gone, four elite soldiers were dead, in matter of seconds.

"Shepard!" same voice, but further away. She turned her head, realizing her team was already moving towards the LZ. Shaking her head, she did the same, running so she'd catch up to them. Another quake stopped her, she covered her head from the falling rocks and when she looked back up, her team was lying on the ground, Toombs' entire body shaking, moving back from something.

Alvarez, or what was left of him, was staring at her, his eyes empty, without life, his body, ripped in half in attempt to run from the thresher maw.


	3. Chapter 3

How can anyone be ready for something like this? When you're facing this monster, your first instinct that kicks in tells you to run. But you can't. The second tells you to pick up your damn gun and kill it. But you can't. So what do you do when you have no options left?

Sound of gunfire mixed with terrified screams echoed in her head. Her mind was blank, she couldn't think, could hardly tell where or who she was. The body of her friend, her brother in arms, was long gone, but she kept staring at the hole in the ground as if she could still bring him back somehow.

Teams were scattered, everyone either tried to run for their life, or shoot at the monster as a last resort. In the end, they just ended up dead. No one thought things could get any worse than this, but life always proves you wrong.

The second thresher maw rose up from the ground right in the middle of the settlement. At first no one paid attention to it, their hands full with the bigger monster having a feast on their bodies. But one person noticed, and he ran as hell, calling out her name, begging her to move.

"-out of here!" he finally caught up to her, yelling through all the firing. There seemed to be nothing left but a vessel, an empty body. But he knew she was better than this, had to be.

A slap on the back of her head brought back a chain of memories and a survival's instinct kicked in. She grabbed her weapon, pulled up to her feet and saluted her captain, awaiting orders. He repeated what he's been yelling all this time and ran for cover when the ground opened again.

"All teams, be advised, we are getting the fuck out of here." Nordin informed every remaining soldier through his headset. They were waiting for this order, for someone to take initiative, someone who'd get them home.

Gunfire stopped. Everyone was suddenly back in their game, back in their soldier. Their bodies were shaking, their thoughts were racing, but they were soldiers, they were tough, crazy sons of bitches. They all called out their names, letting others know who was still in one piece. In the end, the number they came up was 22 out of 50.

Nordin cursed under his breath, rubbing his tired eyes. There was one name that caught his attention in the mist of them all, Collins. "All right, listen up, we're gonna draw one out. Collins, get your launcher ready. When the fucker's dead, get to the LZ."

Collins raised his thumb few steps away from him, already taking out his ML-77. Three other soldiers surrounded him, covering him from all sides. The others moved away, scattering across the battlefield.

"Toombs, you're the scout, I need you to direct the fire." Nordin turned to Toombs, who seemed to be still in shock, but nodded. He grabbed his weapon but it dropped back to the ground. Nordin picked it up for him and shoved it into his chest, "You're the best scout I have, Toombs, get your shit together and I promise you, I'll get you home in one piece."

Toombs nodded and his fingers wrapped around his gun, he then looked at Shepard, kneeling next to him. "We got you covered, Toombs." she said, surprisingly calm under the circumstances. Toombs took a deep breath, focusing on the task at hand.

Ground shook, but no one moved. "Nine." Toombs' voice was quiet, but it gained on volume every time he felt the dirt beneath his feet move. "Eleven…two…three…it's circling around us." he brushed his sweaty forehead. "Five…six, it's coming right from behind us!" he called out into the headset, already ducking to the ground.

Shepard and Nordin did the same, covering their head from rocks. Collins launched the first rocket, hitting the maw right in its mouth. It roared in pain, diving back into the ground. No one celebrated, but everyone's eyes suddenly reflected hope.

"Get moving, Toombs, keep track." Nordin helped his squad back on their feet and motioned them towards the LZ. Others followed his lead, even the only other captain seemed to have fallen in rank. They only needed one leader, one that could bring them all home. With their backs towards the LZ, they scanned every inch for movements. Corporal Toombs kept his own track of the two thresher maws following them, circling around, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Suddenly, Toombs came into a halt, "Nine and three." he said into his headset, his voice shaking. The group of soldiers turned towards both sides, Collins readied his launcher.

They both came at the same time, giving the small team little time to dodge, but everyone made it. Collins fired without hesitation, hitting the same maw for the second time in its massive body. With another roar, it braced for another attack, but a wave of gunfire put it down for good. The second maw disappeared, but the men and women of Alliance raised their weapons into the air, patting each other's backs and shaking hands after this small victory.

Heavy gunner Collins was the one soldier they thanked for their lives and he was damn proud for it. "See? Nothing to it." he said jokingly, raising to his feet. Toombs seemed to be the only one not enjoying death of one thresher maw.

His call came too late, the third maw took Collins and his teammates by surprise, ending their lives as quickly as blowing out a candle. Toombs was calling out numbers, directions of attacks but panic took over once again. Their weapons kept firing until the last clip, until they had nothing left to fight with. Ten more went down in matter of seconds. They were down to eight survivors, barely hanging on to their weapons, barely able to move a muscle.


	4. Chapter 4

They kept on running. No one looked back, no one thought about anything besides keeping up the pace. Their way out was so close they could see themselves flying away from this damned place. Out of pure luck or maws' way of giving them a head start, they reached their shuttles.

No more orders were needed, there was only one priority, to get the hell out. Although Toombs' hands were shaking, he took control of the shuttle. Nordin was standing behind him, he got his back even now. Shepard took a minute to breath, sitting alone in the back, her eyes wouldn't dare to look anywhere else but the floor.

The shuttles moved, their engines roaring. It felt like a calling for maws to come and get them. Remaining soldiers braced themselves.

It might've been Toombs' crappy flying that saved them right that second, or maybe he dodged at the right time. The maw caught the back of their shuttle, causing an explosion. It wasn't strong enough to do any real damage, but not even Toombs could fly this thing now.

The second shuttle had it worse, way worse. They couldn't dodge at time, thresher maw wrapped its body around the shuttle in deadly embrace and pulled it underground.

She was out for few seconds, or minutes after the crash, it was hard to tell. Her head was spinning, every bone in her body hurt and she couldn't move her left arm. Looking around, her eyes finally focused. Shepard was still in the shuttle, but as far she could tell, she was alone.

Forcing her body to move, she managed to sit up. She heard someone groaning at the front, slowly, she made her way towards the voice. Nordin was trapped beneath the weight of the shuttle. It must've been cut in half during the explosion, but she couldn't remember it.

"Captain," her voice was hoarse, quiet, but he heard her. "I'll get…get you out…just…" She tried to make her way to the front of the wreckage, but moving was difficult.

"You alright?" he asked, ignoring his own condition. Shepard nodded, grabbing his bloodied hand that reached out towards her. "I sent a sig…signal, they'll come-" Nordin took a breath, judging by the look on his face, it must've been painful. Seeing her captain like this, she bit her lower lip to stop herself from bursting into tears.

"They'll come for you." he said at last. Shepard could feel her head moving, knowing exactly what her captain was thinking and hating the idea of leaving him. But there was something else, a different feeling tugging at her consciousness. She wanted to run, get away from this.

Nordin groaned in pain once again, gripping Shepard's hand tighter. "Find Toombs." It wasn't an order. Shepard suddenly let go of his hand, rubbing her face, ignoring the blood that painted her face red.

"I can't." she said, her voice breaking. "I can't do this." She kept repeating the words. Smell of blood and death reached her, flames burning behind her kept her shaking body warm. Although it felt nice and safe, it was the exact opposite.

Nordin realized it sooner that she did, "Find him, and get him out of here, I promised." He was begging her now, begging her to safe his family, his little boy. He already lost one, he couldn't lose the rest. "Go, you have to get out." He didn't need to say it twice. Shepard moved back, her eyes locked with Nordin's. Even now, seconds away from death he was putting the safety of his squad first.

The second explosion sent Shepard flying back, hitting the ground hard. A stabbing pain in her back and neck kept her awake. She thought about Nordin's words and looked around, but there were no signs of Toombs anywhere. If she got up now, the thresher maws would find her, kill her. Toombs could already be dead.

She didn't move a muscle, terrified to even breathe. The night sky above her was so beautiful, so different from the horror around her. She closed her eyes, sobbing quietly, knowing she didn't deserve to see it.

* * *

Captain David Anderson was running through the papers again and again. Lives would depend on his decision. His eyes kept returning to one marine, to that one photo that caught his gaze the first time he saw it.

At last, he stood up and left his cabin, determination burning in his eyes. Few minutes later, he realized how different the reality really was.

"I wouldn't recommend her, sir, her condition is unstable." Alliance officer wasn't surprised by captain Anderson's decision, her record was flawless, but that was before Akuze.

"Let me see her." Anderson insisted and the officer let him through, watching the screen with interest. He'd be more than happy to pass her onto someone else, for her own good. It was a shame to let a good marine rot in hospital.

As usual, she was lying on her bed, with her back turned on everything that was happening around. The officer couldn't hear Anderson's voice, but whatever he was telling her, it seemed to have little to no effect. But to his surprise, after few more minutes, she finally moved.

It was like watching a slow motion movie, she moved as slightly paralyzed, pausing after every second. But all the waiting was worth it, in the end, she stood straight, her body tensed, standing at perfect attention. One hand at her side, the other hand, wrapped in bandages that had nothing to do with injuries from Akuze, was saluting her new captain.

She was back, different, scarred for life, but she was finally back.

* * *

_**Author's notes**:_ So, that's it. Pretty short, but that's how I wanted it to be. I had this story in my head for quite a time and had a serious need to write it down. Hope you enjoyed it, if there are any mistakes feel free to tell me, and thanks for reading.


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